If you’re a fan of the NBA’s Western Conference, please take a moment to catch your breath.

All eight playoff teams have 50 victories or more. The six, seven and eight seeds all finished 50-32. The four and the five are both 53-29. The three seed has 54 wins. The two seed has 55. And the top-seeded Los Angeles Lakers have 57.

Incredible.

But now, none of that matters, because, when the playoffs tip off on Sunday, anything can happen.

The outlook for the postseason for former Jayhawks is bleak, as just five KU alums are on playoff rosters this season, compared with seven a season ago. Beyond that, only one of those Jayhawks — Boston’s Paul Pierce — is on a team seeded in the top half of its conference. The Celtics earned the No. 4 seed in the East and will play host to Miami in Round 1.

Although it looks unlikely for a former Jayhawk to bring home the title this year, it’s not necessarily out of the question. Here’s a quick look at the first-round matchups for all five former Jayhawks.

Western Conference

No. 8 Oklahoma City and PF Nick Collison vs. No. 1 Los Angeles Lakers:
Collison certainly has his hands full in the first round, as the Thunder will take on Kobe Bryant and the defending champion Lakers to kick off the postseason. Two things Collison has going for him that might — and I stress might — give OKC a reason to believe it can compete. For starters, Collison’s teammate Kevin Durant just became the league’s youngest scoring champion in NBA history. Durant, as Jayhawk fans know all too well, is a scoring machine. He can pull up from distance, drive to the bucket and score in transition. His size and skills make him a tough matchup for anyone, defending champs or not. In addition to that, Durant and the Thunder feel slighted after recent comments from Lakers camp seemed to imply a bit of disrespect. That’s not worth much in victories, but it might keep this series competitive. Prediction: Lakers in 5.

Eastern Conference

No. 4 Boston Celtics and SF Paul Pierce vs. No. 5 Miami Heat and PG Mario Chalmers:
The good news in this series is that, no matter what happens, at least one Jayhawk is guaranteed to advance to the second round. For those hoping to see another KU legend hoist the NBA championship trophy, the smart money here would be to pull for the Celtics. For starters, Boston has the experience, hunger and savvy to make a run no matter what they’re seeded. Beyond that, at least Boston’s former Jayhawk actually plays meaningful minutes. For whatever reason — and there may be many of them — Chalmers has fallen out of favor in Miami and has only played more than 25 minutes in a game seven times since mid-March. That includes 11 games since March 1 in which he scored five points or fewer. Super Mario still has enough game to make an impact if given the chance, but one has to wonder where his confidence level sits heading into his second postseason. Pierce, meanwhile, no one has to worry about. We know what he’s capable of at this time of the season and, because The Truth isn’t getting any younger, we might as well enjoy as many playoff games as he can while he’s still playing in them. Prediction: Celtics in 6.

No. 6 Milwaukee Bucks and PF Darnell Jackson vs. No. 3 Atlanta Hawks.
This is a great story, as Jackson was cut by Cleveland late in the season and immediately picked up by the Bucks. The very fact that they snagged him leads me to believe that Milwaukee truly wanted Jackson. But that doesn’t necessarily mean he’s going to see the floor during the playoffs. You gotta feel for Jackson, too. He went from playing along side LeBron James every night for a team that loved him and was a serious title contender to a team that’s likely to get bounced in the first round. Prediction: Hawks in 6.

No. 8 Chicago Bulls and PG Kirk Hinrich vs. No. 1 Cleveland Cavaliers.
Well, they did it again. And, just like last year, it appears as if the Bulls are going to be a tough out in the first round. They have the athletes and the experience to make this a series. I’m just not sure they have the consistency. Nor do they have a player who can stop LeBron James. Then again, does anyone? Because of his quickness, toughness and warrior mentality, Hinrich may get his shot from time to time in this series, but I just can’t see it going well. The Bulls took the Celtics to the brink of elimination in Round 1 a season ago, but they don’t match up quite as well with the Cavs and I don’t expect a repeat performance this time around. No matter how many games it goes, though, each one of these games should be entertaining. Prediction: Cavs in 5.

Here’s a look at the season statistics of this year’s playoff-bound Jayhawks:

Nick Collison: 75 GP, 5 GS, 20.8 MPG, 5.9 PPG, 5.1 RPG, 59% FG, 69% FT
Paul Pierce: 71 GP, 71 GS, 18.3 PPG, 4.4 RPG, 3.1 APG, 1.2 SPG, 47% FG, 41% 3PT, 85% FT
Mario Chalmers: 73 GP, 22 GS, 24.8 MPG, 7.1 PPG, 3.4 APG, 1.2 SPG, 40% FG, 32% 3PT, 75% FT
Darnell Jackson: 28 GP, 0 GS, 2.8 PPG, 2.7 RPG, 20% FG, 0% FT
Kirk Hinrich: 74 GP, 53 GS, 10.9 PPG, 4.5 APG, 3.5 RPG, 1.2 SPG, 41% FG, 37% 3PT, 75% FT.

Key: GP = games played; GS = games started; MPG = minutes per game; PPG = points per game; RPG = rebounds per game; APG = assists per game; SPG = steals per game, FG = field goal percentage; 3PT = three-point percentage; FT = free throw percentage.